School merger plans outlined by council

BUCKHAVEN and Kirkland High Schools look set to merge, with one state-of-the-art education facility being created in their place.

Fife Council has outlined plans to combine the two Levenmouth schools, subject to appropriate funding being granted.

The possible merger will be discussed at a meeting of the council’s executive committee tomorrow (Thursday) where councillors will hear of the plan to create a new build, believed to be on the site of the current Buckhaven High, by 2016 and catering for 1700 pupils.

Councillor Tom Adams, the chair of the Levenmouth area committee, welcomed the proposal, which he stressed was still at an early stage.

He said: “A new school for Levenmouth is just an idea at the moment.

“The executive committee will only be discussing a bid to the Scottish Schools for the Future fund, but we hope it would stand a good chance of getting some much-needed funds for the area.

“So this is just the beginning of an opportunity, but it’s certainly one I welcome with open arms.

“If we’re successful in getting funding, it would be fantastic to work with our existing school communities to plan a state-of-the art-high school to give our kids the best possible opportunities, without losing any of the good points from our existing schools.”

The Mail understands teachers were told of the plan at Kirkland last week.

The roll at the Methil school has seen a drop in recent years, falling to a current level of 576 compared to just over 900 12 years ago.

It’s expected that the roll will remain around this level for the foreseeable future.

The council’s executive director for education and learning, Ken Greer, said the merger would ‘maximise pupil benefits’ and would offer significant educational, social and economic advantages to the Levenmouth community.

He added: “By operating a single school on a single site, significant cost efficiencies could be achieved including staffing, building energy costs, cleaning and janitorial costs.